The fuel cell is a device which directly produces electricity through an electrochemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen in the air, and is an energy source which is eco-friendly, has high energy efficiency, and has a high value added through technology development. Specifically, the solid oxide fuel cell which is a third-generation fuel cell has advantages in that the solid oxide fuel cell does not need a complex external reforming system as compared with other fuel cells, and does not use a noble metal electrode catalyst such as platinum, and is not corroded due to a liquid electrolyte, so that various operating problems caused in a low temperature fuel cell may be minimized, and the solid oxide fuel cell may maintain an operating temperature through appropriate insulation at the time of a high temperature operation and use various fuels.
A configuration of the solid oxide fuel cell is formed of a unit cell, which includes a fuel electrode, an electrolyte, and an air electrode, and a connecting material, which connects unit cells. Among them, the sealant serves to prevent fuel gas supplied to a fuel electrode (anode) between an electrolyte layer and a metal connector and air supplied to an air electrode from being mixed with each other and to prevent gas leakage to the outside. The sealant is a very important core component for ensuring thermal mechanical stability and a long life-span of a stack, and operates at a high temperature of 600° C. to 800° C., so that importance of development of the sealant is increased.
The related art has a problem in that in order to evaluate a characteristic of the sealant, performances of a fuel cell and a sealant are measured not only using the sealant, but also using fuel cell having a complex structure in which all components such as a unit cell, a window frame (or a separator), and an interconnector are laminated.
Further, the solid oxide fuel cell is classified into a planar type, a cylindrical type, and a planar tubular type, and there is a problem in that a structure of the device which measures a performance and a characteristic is subdivided according to the type.
Further, a device for measuring a characteristic of a solid oxide fuel cell in the related art may use one device to make only one measurement to measure a performance of the fuel cell or evaluate whether gas is leaked through the sealant, so that there is a problem in that in order to measure various performances of the solid oxide fuel cell and a component thereof, the device needs to be converted into a measuring device suitable therefor.